Website meant to help parents find best schools

Florida parents searching for a school for their child can use a new state website that aims to make comparing campuses and finding "the best educational match" easier.

The Florida Department of Education launched the online resources, called Florida Students Achieve, this week.

It allows users to compare schools by grade, student performance on state tests and graduation rates, among other measures. It also provides information on Florida's academic standards and the benchmarks for what students should learn in each class and grade, as well as highlights school choice options available to families.

Most of the information was on the education department's website previously, but the new site packages it in a more user-friendly way.

The website was launched as Florida school districts work to comply with a new state law that will allow parents to choose any public school — one outside their attendance zone, city or even school district — for their child, as long as it has room.

Orange County Public Schools superintendant Barbara Jenkins talks about the new OCPS Academic Center for Excellence (ACE), on the first day of classes, Monday, August 14, 2017. ACE serves students pre-K through 8th grade school and is the first OCPS school located in the Parramore neighborhood since the early 1970s. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Orange County Public Schools superintendant Barbara Jenkins talks about the new OCPS Academic Center for Excellence (ACE), on the first day of classes, Monday, August 14, 2017. ACE serves students pre-K through 8th grade school and is the first OCPS school located in the Parramore neighborhood since the early 1970s. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

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Angel Sanchez, a UCF graduate who beats the odds after spending 12 years in prison for gang-related crimes, talks about being accepted into the University of Miami Law School, Friday, July 28, 2017. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Angel Sanchez, a UCF graduate who beats the odds after spending 12 years in prison for gang-related crimes, talks about being accepted into the University of Miami Law School, Friday, July 28, 2017. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

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Carmel Saxon, 64, says she was pushed out of her job in 2013 and removed from a project because her supervisor said he needed someone with “more energy.”

Carmel Saxon, 64, says she was pushed out of her job in 2013 and removed from a project because her supervisor said he needed someone with “more energy.”

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Nearly five years after Gov. Rick Scott challenged state colleges to offer $10,000 degrees to students, few students have graduated with such degrees, and none at Valencia or Seminole State College.

Nearly five years after Gov. Rick Scott challenged state colleges to offer $10,000 degrees to students, few students have graduated with such degrees, and none at Valencia or Seminole State College.

"Florida gives parents the power of choice," it says. "While the school around the corner may be a great school for many kids, if for any reason it is not a great school for your child, you have many places to look for the best educational match."

State officials say the new law continues Florida's effort to give parents more options outside traditional public schools. Options such as charter schools, magnet programs and virtual education already mean about 25 percent of the state's public school students attend a school that is not the one they were assigned to based on attendance zones.

The new law, which kicks in in August, has Central Florida educators worried, however, as they say most of their campuses have little room to take in more students. They also fear wide-open transfers will make it hard to plan for future growth and dilute local school taxes.

But the new website could aid parents trying to use those transfers, as it allows them to search, by zip code, city or school district, for schools and then compare in a series of colorful bar charts.